E3 2018 Rumor Roundup: Splinter Cell, Rocksteady's Superman, and More

It feels like E3 has been spoiled this year more than most, continuing a recent trend of the show having more premature reveals year over year. It's a hard stat to quantify, but it certainly feels that way at least, doesn't it? What hasn't been outright spoiled has often still been rumored or teased. With the big week approaching, we examine some of the event's loudest whispers and try to make sense of what is real, what is wishful thinking, and what is coming solely from internet trolls. We've already seen several games announced ahead of the show, as publishers look to make some noise before things get too loud. RAGE 2, Fallout 76, and Assassin's Creed Odyssey are just a few examples, though in the lattermost case it seems they just wanted to confirm the leak. What other surprises does E3 have in store? Here's everything we've been hearing.

Rocksteady Feels Super

This rumor comes from 4chan in a since-deleted post. It's actually a revival of a rumor from earlier in the year that said Game Informer would be unveiling a new Superman project from Rocksteady with one of their next cover stories. The GI staff had lots of fun with that on Twitter, teasing and ultimately squashing the rumors, but they've cropped back up again just this week. Curiously, Game Informer has also yet to reveal their cover story for their next magazine issue, something they do at the start of every month. It stands to reason their next cover features a game we don't yet know about, and every day they remain quiet makes it more likely that whatever it is will be shown next week in LA. We know Rocksteady is in the studio working on something. We just don't know what that something is. Could it be?

Three Cheers for Gears?

The Walmart leak looked keeps looking more and more accurate with each week, so we're feeling pretty confident we'll see a new mainline Gears game revealed during Microsoft's show. What we aren't so sure of is whether a newer, wilder rumor should be believed. Whispers say Microsoft will debut not one but three games in the franchise, with battle royale and RTS spin-offs coming too. This seems like overdoing it, even for a brand that has struggled to appease critical cries of too few exclusive games. Do Gears fans expect a stunning three-part reveal? More importantly, do Gears fans want those kinds of spin-offs?

Sam Comes Out of the Shadows

We've written about a new Splinter Cell so many times over the past month, it already feels so real. At this point, it seems like neither we nor many others are in doubt that Ubisoft will be bringing back their famous stealth-action series, and judging by his recent cameo in Ghost Recon Wildlands, it looks like Michael Ironside will be reprising his role as the iconic Sam Fisher as well, which is a huge boon for fans, no doubt. Ubisoft always closes with a bang, so don't be surprised if this is their "but wait, there's more" moment of 2018's presser.

Fly Prey to the Moon

Not so much a rumor but more of a tease, Bethesda and Arkane have been showing glimpses of some sort of DLC or standalone expansion for Prey. The spacey immersive sim didn't top any commercial charts but it was a quiet critical hit, which apparently was enough to land the game some sort of story expansion. The question remains, is this is standalone, a la Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, or will it be available only to those who own the full game? While we're talking Bethesda in space, what about those Starfield rumors? They've promised their longest show ever, and we only seem to know of three projects that likely be present. What else does the publisher have up their sleeve?

Xbox Has a New Fable to Tell

We all recall the rumors of a new Fablecropping up a few months ago. The consensus seemed to be, sure it seems quite possible but also far off from being shown. With Microsoft's PR army talking big about fixing the first-party problem, will "too early" even matter? We wouldn't be surprised if we see something, even just a CG trailer, to confirm this project is real. It's the type of thing that could steal the show for Team Xbox if done right. For what it's worth, most of us on staff do believe it's real. We just aren't all sold that it'll be shown off so soon, but crazier things have happened at E3.

Why Another Sequel, You Ask? Oh, Just Cause.

Looking at that Walmart leak again, only a few games remain totally unrevealed and without much chatter about them, but Just Cause 4 is one such game. It's not that the series has no reason to return. What's strange is we know the usual developer, Avalanche Studios, is working on RAGE 2 with id Software. Does this mean their team split up? Does it mean they're in two very different developmental phases, allowing for just a little overlap? Or has Square Enix brought the series to a new studio entirely — if it exists at all? Just Cause feels like a series that is few people's favorite, but it has its fans and certainly has the potential to win people over with some ridiculous new mechanics, the likes of which have made the series famous in the past.

Kingdom Hearts III Gets a (Dream) Drop Date

This one is another one that's more a tease than a rumor. At a recent press event for the long-awaited threequel, Square Enix reps assured inquisitive journalists that they should watch the E3 news feed if they're curious about a launch date. As the game is still slated for 2018 and we're now almost halfway through the year, a release date feels like a now-or-never proposition for the creators. We could foresee it following the path of another major release from Square Enix, Final Fantasy XV, and come out after the usually ideal Black Friday window. It wouldn't matter much for a game like this, most likely, as those who have been waiting for so long won't forget to make room in their holiday plans for a game like this.

Double Dose of Capcom

One of the worst-kept secrets of the show is the incoming Devil May Cry 5. No doubt at this point the project is real and the publisher's close relationship with Sony tells us it'll probably be shown during their portion of the conference schedule. What's more for fans of the Japanese gamemakers, the Resident Evil 2 reveal is rumored to finally be shown this year too. Again, we expect Sony will have garnered the rights to show this one off, but like with DMC5, it'll probably be a multiplatform game. What kind of changes do you expect to see in this "REmake"?

Other Rumors

There have been other rumors which we've heard or read that have since been quieted by official statements or seemingly trustworthy follow-up reports. Stuff like Sunset Overdrive 2 or Bloodborne 2 seem sadly unlikely at this point, though perhaps only for this year and not permanently. One can only hope!

Mark has been gaming for over two decades and writing for the TrueGaming Network since 2011. He greatly prefers single-player to online modes, but is always taking challengers in Rocket League and Madden. Aside from games, he loves sci-fi, NFL football (go Titans), and biking. He'll be disappointed when The Last of Us 2 is announced.

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